Railway-joint



mmodel') W. A. GUTHRIB.

RAILWAY JOINT.

No. 468,518. Patented Feb. 9, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

VILLIAM A. GUTHRIE, OF DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA.

RAILWAY-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 468,518, dated February9, 1892.

Application led October 5, '1891. Serial No. 407,770. (No model.)

To a@ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. GUTHETE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of Durham, State of North Carolina, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Joints, of whichthe following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to railroad-rail joints, and has for its object theconstruction of a simple device whereby the rails may be effectivelyjoined along the line of track, so as to prevent their depression at andnear the ends, where they are weakest, on account of the downwardpressure of a moving train, and also to prevent their lateraldisplacement by the pressure of the iianges of the wheels against them,more particularly the lower rail7 in passing around a curve, where bythe nat ural law of gravity, the moving train having a lateral motion,as it were, down an inclined plane, the greater weight is thrownlaterally against the inside part of the head of the lower rail, and attimes, too, with more or less of a shock, tending to spread the rails,especially at the joints.

My object is at the same time to allow for the natural expansion andcontraction of the rails in a longitudinal direction and also to adaptmy invention to the present well-known state of the art in theconstruction of railroads, making no changes inthe construction of thewell-established T-rail, no change in the construction of the rims orperiphery of car-wheels, and no change in the use, in the ordinary way,of cross-ties-in short, to pro vide an invention of practical benefitand one which can be easily adapted to the present state of railroadconstruction and operation, reducing the wear and tear on the railsthemselves and the in j uryto the rolling-stock in operating the road,and adding to the safety and comfort of employs and passengers.

My invention consists in the particular construction and arrangement ofparts hereinafter more fully described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan view of my improvedjoint for railroad-rails. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same onthe line l 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the saine on theline 3 4, Fig. l. Fig. i is a side view of -ively, the base-plate, theinner andiouter side plates, and the inner and outer angle-bars. Thebase-plateD is somewhat wider than the base-flanges of the rails and isof a length less than the distance between the adjoining cross-ties B B.The side plates F F overlap those portions of the base-plate D whichproject beyond the flanges of the rails, and said side plates alsoextend over the cross-ties B B` and are securely fastened thereto byspikes a, the rails also being spiked to the ties, as usual. The innerand outer angle-bars G G are bolted to the webs of the rails in the samemanner as the ordinary fish-plates and extend up under the heads of therails and bear upon the base-flanges of the saine, and these plates alsoproject ont over the side plates F F, bolts b passing through theseprojecting portions of the angle-plates and through the side plates andbase-plate, so as to irmly secure the whole structure together. Theangle-plates have shoulders cl, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for bearinglaterally against the inner faces of the side plates F F, and the outerangle-plate G has at the joint between the rails a bridgeblock G2, thetop of which is flush with the tops of the rail-heads and also extendingupward slightly above the heads of the rails and shaped so as to conformto the outer periphery of the passing wheels, this bridgeblock extendingsome little distance on each side of the joint and sloping downward atits extreme sides to prevent a shock to the wheels in passing over it,as shown in Figs. l and 4. The outer angle-bar G may have upon the outerface vertical ribs f, as shown in Figs. 5 and G, these ribs serving asbearings for elastic plates g, against which bear in the spaces betweenthe ribs nuts on the transverse bolts 7L of the joint, the elastic IOOplates thus exerting a pressure against the nuts to prevent theaccidental loosening of the latter.

Having thus set forth the general construction of the joint, I will nowgive more in detail the objects and advantages of the same. The joint isthe weakest part of a railroadline, as is conceded, and to strengthenthe joint or reinforce it is the prime obj ect of my invention. Hence myjoint begins with the fiat plate underneath the rails and between thecross-ties, such location being usually called a swinging joint. By theuse of the swinging joint I accommodate the base-plate without eitherdepressing the joint-tie below the others on either side of it orcutting away a portion of the top of the cross-tie to accommodate thebase-plate, either of which plans would be objectionable, becausecutting away the cross-tie involves labor and tends to accumulaterain-water at the point of cutting, more particularly if mortises be cutinto the ties, which water will rot the wood, while the depressing ofone cross-tie below another has a tencency to rot the whole tie and alsoto make an uneven road-bed. A swinging joint having the base plate D,however, is perfectly solid, as the bases of the ends of the rails restflatly and evenly upon this plate. Hence if the webs and the heads ofthe rails are uniformly made the tops of the rail-heads must be ofexactly the same height, and the rails are thus kept exactly flush witheach other on top while receiving the impact and downward pressure ofthe wheels. Vhen the ends of the rails are uneven on top, the wheelsbegin to hammer the ends, and the wearing away of the ends increaseswith the hammering, and whenever there is any hammering there is more orless shock and injury to the rolling-stock, as well as the rails, thusincreasing the danger of accidents. Moreover, whenever the joint isdepressed on either side from any cause the center of gravity of themoving train at once shifts and the railon the lower side of the trackreceives more than its share of the weight of the passing train.

While heretofore in the ordinary use of lishbar plates the object is tosupport the ends of the rails by their heads, my invention undertakes,by the use of the base-plates and side plates to which said base-plateis firmly bolted, to begin with a support for the bases of the rails andto use in combination with that the old-style fish-plate head-supportwith this material addition-*namely that I use stronger fish-bars orangle-joints, and the bases of these bars are pressed firmly againstboth the tops and inner sides of the side plates, so that they arebetter supported than they could be if their bases were spiked down tothe wooden cross-ties or (as more frequently happens when joint andangle bars now in use have been made to swing between the cross-ties)without any support whatever for the bases of the angle-bars. In myjoint the overcome any pressure, however great and` either downward orlateral, that may be exerted upon them. Hence the angle-bars effectually resist pressure both downward and outward and the strain on the boltswhich hold the angle-bars together through the webs of the rails isrelieved. The bridgeblock G2 serves to carry the wheels over the jointand to stiffen and strengthen the anglebar G at the joint both asregards downward and outward pressure. The bolts which hold thebase-plate to the side plates can be made as strong as necessary, andthe weight of the base-plate keeps the nuts which fasten it to the sideplates always locked, while the pressure of themoving train passing thejoint tends to lock the nuts the more firmly at the time of greatestneed for locking said nuts. When the outer rim or periphery of the wheelis passing the bridge Gr2 across the joint between the ends of therails, lateral as well as downward pressure is exerted upon the top ofthe outer anglebar, while the base of the same is supported firmlyagainst the side bar. Hence this outward pressure locks the nuts on thebolts, which pass through the webs of the rails and hold the angle-barsytogether. If any further locking of these bolts is needed, it isprovided for in the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the ribs fbetween the bolts presenting means for applying the fiat piece of steelg and springing it by screwing up the nuts against it.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patentl. The within-described rail-joint, consisting of abase-plate adapted to support the rails between the ties, opposite sideplates secured to the ties and overlapping said baseplate, inner andouter angle-bars adapted to be bolted to and to support the rails andhaving both a vertical and a lateral bearing upon the side plates, andbolts for securing said base-plate, side plates, and angle-platestogether, substantially as specified.

2. The within-described rail-joint, the same consisting of a base-plateadapted to support the rails between the ties, opposite side platessecured to the ties and overlapping the baseplate, inner and outerangle-bars adapted to be bolted to and to support the rails, saidangle-bars overlapping the side plates and the outer bar having abridge-block the top of which extends upward somewhat above the heads ofthe rails, so as to conform to the outer periphery of the passingwheels, and bolts for securing the base-plate, side plates, andanglebars together, substantially as specified.

3. The within-described rail-joint, the same consisting of a base-plateadapted to support the rails between the ties, opposite side plates IOOIIC

secured to the ties and overlapping the base- In testimony whereof Ihave signed my plate, inner and outer angle-bars adapted to name to thisspecification in the presence of 1o be bolted to and to support therails, said bars two subscribing Witnesses.

projecting over the side plates and one of the bars having ribs servingas bearings for an v TILLIXM A' GUTHRIE' elastic nut-looking plate, andbolts for secul'- Witnesses: ing together the base-plate, side plates,and ALBERT POPKINS, angle-bars, substantially as specified. J. FRED.KELLEY.

